Grace periods are such a nice thing. In case you are late on a bill payment, the grace period allows you to catch-up without incurring a penalty. When you make a major purchase, say an appliance, computer, or furniture, some companies allow a thirty, sixty or ninety day “grace period” so that you can defer payments a few months. (I don’t recommend doing this because you still pay the interest, but it is available.)
Recently I came across an insurance policy statement that I had overlooked on my desk at home. The billing statement, for a life insurance policy, gave the due date and the amount for payment. When I cross-checked the due date with the actual date, I was a week late in sending in the payment! A moment of panic gripped me as a began to wonder what would happen… would they cancel the policy, would they tack an additional amount to the fees already due, would they remove me as a customer and black flag my account and send me into an insurance abyss to which I could never recover?
Once I came to my senses, I began to read the back of the statement and it indicated that I had an additional two weeks past the due date as a grace period for payment. What a relief! I immediately wrote a check and sent it in the mail hoping that there would be no further delays in the company receiving payment.
I don’t know if the business practice of the grace period was for the benefit of the company or the customer, but the modern practice of a grace period was not a design of recent brilliance. No, the practice of a “grace period” has been around for centuries. In fact, the grace period existed since the dawn of creation.
In the Old Testament book, Nehemiah records a time when all of Israel stood before God, confessed their own sins and the sins of their fathers, and they literally read from the Law of the Lord (Pentateuch) for almost three hours. In their confessional prayers they acknowledged the Lord’s patience, “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them…”(Neh. 9:17). If that’s not a grace period, then I don’t know what is.
Have you ever thought that all of our lives include a grace period? Although it is not as limited as a late payment grace period, it is still just as effective as and of more value than for payment default. God’s grace period extends from the moment we take our first gasp of air all the way to our final breath. Yet, we must remember, although God’s patience far exceeds our own and that “The Lord is slow to anger” (Nahum 1:3) we can take to heart, God’s patience exists so that we have the opportunity to respond to faith in Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:8-15).
Too often we get into a habit of pushing things off until the last minute. With some things that is fine to do, but continued procrastination might produce a very costly effect such as never having the chance to say “I love you” one last time, never reading with your children while their young, or never stopping to give thanks to God for all that he’s done for you.
I hope that you never let God’s grace period expire without receiving, professing, and declaring Christ’s love for your life. And by doing so, you cultivate an active behavior of receiving the full measure of grace that God has for you.
I look forward to experiencing another “grace period” with you on Sunday,
